I did find the leak. Apparently the Euro-R manifold does not work well with throttle bodies that have the FITV built in. So, how to seal this hole?

At first I tried this, permatex gray filled in the cavity...then I thought about how poorly that would end up if a chunk decided to fly in the combustion chamber.

Next idea, find a rubber plug. This one hurt me a bit inside because I don't like destroying tools, but it was fairly cheap and it seems to fit the bill perfectly. A rubber mallet cut down into the shape of the cavity.

This was a successful mod. No more vaccuum leaks. Idle is steady at about 800 rpm. I let the car warm all the way up until the radiator fans kicked on a few times. Oil pressure and water temp stayed in a good range. The best part? No leaks!

Now I need to replace some suspension components and drive her for the first time in a while!

She's up and running! Did a few rounds through the neighborhood and everything seems OK. I have two codes: one is due to my VTEC pressure switch not being installed, the other is EGR valve insufficient lift. I don't remember if I reinstalled the EGR vacuum line or not.

Initial thoughts:
The car is freaking low. I forgot how close to the earth you sit in this thing. Its awesome.
There is a lot of vibration at idle, even with the stock mounts. Might be due to the balance shaft delete. I don't remember it being that bad with the belt removed. I enjoy a little vibration, it makes the car feel alive.
The clutch feels like a stock clutch! I was really surprised at how easy it was to engage. I have to run it through the breaking period before I start romping on it, but I'm thoroughly impressed with the smoothness of the 4 puck, semi-metallic clutch.
The lightweight flywheel compliments the car. It makes rev matching a thought-less process. There is no transmission noise that I can pick up. It is easy to drive, no need to rev it to 3k just to take off like some posts may indicate. That may be due to the...
H23a Engine:
This thing is effortless in power, for a 4 cylinder I haven't gone pass 4krpm in gear but it has balls, is responsible to throttle input, smooth power on the stock ecu but I feel it needs some turning to really bring it out.

Next:
Insure, emissions, register, wash, drive!!!
There are a few clunks coming from the rear to check.
I am also converting the front suspension to the SH setup. I feel that it is superior.

Do you feel a real difference in the 2.3L vs the 2.2? Granted, the aftermarket clutch & flywheel are going to skew things.

People always say, "oh, it's just a tiny bit more torque." But the internal characteristics are still different, so personally I would imagine it feels different across the whole rev range, given that it has the same compression on a longer stroke, and the lower redline. Peak numbers certainly aren't everything.

__________________Project CB9 AeroR start-up: //////////Slowly but surely... and gunning for that NA list!

Do you feel a real difference in the 2.3L vs the 2.2? Granted, the aftermarket clutch & flywheel are going to skew things.

People always say, "oh, it's just a tiny bit more torque." But the internal characteristics are still different, so personally I would imagine it feels different across the whole rev range, given that it has the same compression on a longer stroke, and the lower redline. Peak numbers certainly aren't everything.

To be honest, I don't remember what the 2.2L felt like. It's been well over a year since I have driven this car, and I'm sure my comparison would be off. It wouldn't be too hard to find a stock Prelude to test against.

I passed the emissions test after I figured out my P0505/hunting idle issue. It was due to the throttle plate not fulling closing. Discovered that one with a few squirts of water into the throttle body. I adjusted it by eyesight, holding it up to the sunlight and turning throttle stop screw until the smallest amount of light came through perimeter of the plate. The engine was able to be stalled by covering up the IACV hole. No more leaks!

I cleared my CEL and engine monitors and started the cycle over. Within about 10 minutes all the monitors were complete and I immediately went to the emission station because ya know...cars like to act up. I got my emissions updated and now I have to wait until next week or so to get my tags.

I HAVE TO GET RID OF THESE WHEELS!!! Anybody wanna do the whole stancelife thing?

Car is legal! 1st gear just spins, these tires and wheels are not appropriate for my application. I didn't max it out because I still have about 700 miles to put on the clutch for proper break in. Plus, I'm running Supertech oil for engine "break-in", mainly because I wanted cheap oil to circulate all the particulates through the regular filter before I put the good S2k filter on.

I still have an idle hunt sometimes. I'll have to keep an eye on it so I can see what situations that it happens in.

I also have negative fuel trims, like damn near pegged out negative (-14%). I need to check my O2 sensors and make sure the pre and post cat sensors aren't flipped. I doubt it. The car would run like ass if that were the case.

I hate to admit this, but the Prelude's interior feels cheap. After dailying my ZHP, everything about the interior seems toy-like. It doesn't help that it has been previously spray painted which gives it a terrible sheen. There are rattles. The turn signal stalk feels like Hasbro manufactured it. It's really bad. I'd rather gut it, which I plan to do anyway, and run some carbon fiber door panels lol.

That's pretty much the process until I find a consistent good technique. I got somewhat good at it, but my home soldering stuff is much different than the stuff at work, which means I'll have to tweak the process a bit more.

Where did you get these connectors? I could of used them on my odyssey when I was making my harness. I tried to google/ebay MIL Spec connectors but couldn't find anything like the ones you have.

I hear ya on the cheap feeling. I always felt civics were like this which is why i do not like them. Accords felt a bit better. But if someone painted the interior parts that makes it even worse. So you just need to redo all the interior

Car is in my driveway
Going to sell these XXRs to my friend an pick some wheels. I want to do RPF1s strictly for their lightweight properties, but I can't convince myself to get a wheel that everyone has or has had before. Plus, I don't know if they will fit over my old RL brake caliper set up that I had on my CB.

Car is in my driveway
Going to sell these XXRs to my friend an pick some wheels. I want to do RPF1s strictly for their lightweight properties, but I can't convince myself to get a wheel that everyone has or has had before. Plus, I don't know if they will fit over my old RL brake caliper set up that I had on my CB.

You'll need 17s. I hated my XXRs, when i had them. But your car has a unique color, so I don't think gold rims would look good or even bronze. I can't see white either, maybe white.

Installed the driver's door lock cylinder last night. Feels good to be able to lock the car again. Next is a full security system. I'm a Compustar fan boy, so I'll go with them again.

I'm kind of on the fence about a smartphone system vs the dongle. I would rather not pay a subscription fee as the most useful thing to me is gps tracking not 3G/CDMA/LTE car unlocking and starting. Then there is Lo-Jack which I would trust more than Drone Mobile. After what happened with my CB, I know I'll go overkill on the security/theft prevention part of the car.

Raf, I think the best wheel color would be a silver or diamond cut aluminum type finish. I've been leaning toward a machined + clear coat finish, multi-spoke style wheel. I'm going to be paying some cash for that as those are mostly forged.

I've put about 750 miles on Lude. The clutch should be nice and broken in by now, so I've been doing harder and harder launches. I can break these weak ass tires loose with a fast take off at about 2k rpm and spin all the way through 1st and quite a bit through 2nd. My next major purchase for this car may be some wheels. I have my eye set on some Enkei PF01SS 17x9 et48 with Hankook model something 245/40/17 for about $800. If my buyer comes through with these XXRs, I'll have a new set of shoes!! And that size looks soooooo good on a Lude!!
MEATY!!

Second thing is my fuel trims are going pretty negative and sometimes throws an EVAP code and a too rich code. My TPS also needs to get adjusted as it goes over voltage during WOT pulls. Other than that the engine feels solid. Wait, I think my timing belt is rubbing on something so I'll have to pull the covers off and find out what's going on.

I picked up an H-series Fluidampr. Yeah I know I don't need it, but I've been doing so well with selling stuff on eBay that I could use a small gift. These things are pretty rare. I haven't seen one for sale since the last guy here was selling one...about 2 years ago or so. I figured it would be a nice addition for the reliability goal of the build.

Personally, I think those kinds of mods are more important than any power adders. Anything to make the foundation more solid, for me.

On the subject of wheels, have you seen BB6s with 05-06 RSX Type S wheels on? Back when I was shopping for a Prelude (when I ended up with the DC5 instead), I was crazy for that look. Still am, actually; it's just too bad they're not an 8" wheel.

__________________Project CB9 AeroR start-up: //////////Slowly but surely... and gunning for that NA list!

Personally, I think those kinds of mods are more important than any power adders. Anything to make the foundation more solid, for me.

On the subject of wheels, have you seen BB6s with 05-06 RSX Type S wheels on? Back when I was shopping for a Prelude (when I ended up with the DC5 instead), I was crazy for that look. Still am, actually; it's just too bad they're not an 8" wheel.

My buyer for the XXRs fell through. He couldn't find anyone that would stretch tires for him. 225s on 9" wheels is still to much of a liability to tire shops it seems. If I could trade them for a nice set of RSX-S wheels and good tires, I'd hop on that in a heartbeat! I love those wheels on a Lude, not matter how many times it has been done.

Not really an update, just kind of a thought dump post.
The fluidampr is 7lb exactly according to my hi-tech, research grade scale.

And 7.25in in diameter, using my recently calibrated measuring stick:

There is also no hex keyway on this pulley. An impact should make quick work of the pulley bolt. Note that this would delete PS, so wide tires with the planned SH suspension(lots of caster) swap would make this a complete PITA to turn. Maybe those RSX-S wheels are a good idea after all.

Meanwhile, I broke the center vent panel trying to remove it. Sucks, but I have something better in mind...see where I'm going with this?

The tach gauge is redundant and won't be used, unless I can re-purpose it for another function. There are a few more inputs that the controller has that I may try to fill such as EGT and Fuel Pressure. Then of course a dedicated A/F gauge will have to go in there. I'm thinking of a nice magnetic cover for concealing them when parked. It looks like it should flow nicely once it is cut and shaped. Yes, this is my inner ricer coming out. I need all 8 gauge spaces filled.

Make sure to tie those into the brightness control somehow. One regret for my gauges. Blue light shinning in your face non stop :P

The "brain" for the gauges has an illumination wire that I can tie in to. The day and night brightness is also adjustable from the controller. Pretty neat actually!

I finally got a chance to put my damper on, but there is a clearance issue between the frame rail. I'll need to take my sledge to it and give it a few mm of breathing room. If I decide to keep it, then I'll have to do some supporting mods such as stiffer engine mounts and a manual rack conversion.

There is also a 30% alternator underdrive, so no blasting trap music at idle. Speaking of electrical, I sold my soldering setup for extra funds since I really didn't need production grade soldering equipment. I may also sell my mil-spec connectors, grab a used crimper and pick up some crimp termination mil-spec connectors.